Pop Culture Mondays/2.16.21
The TUESDAY, YODA CAT, Edition
Happy FAKE Monday my pop culture junkies! I am sorry I failed in delivering this yesterday but it turned out I needed a bit of a digital detox plus who was really going to read this yesterday when you were all out skiing or swimming or staying in bed or making TikToks or watching TikToks on President’s Day in the US. OR if you were freezing your asses off in Texas and Oklahoma and anyone in the wake of super storm Uri (Uri, really? REALLY Storm Naming people? This is what you got??) But I hope everyone is safe and warm but I will say some of the TikTok content showing how bad the storm is has really floored me. Someone’s FISH TANK froze…the whole fish tank and sadly the fishies….But this was one hell of a week from crazy cat filters to more alerts on your phone from Clubhouse than spam calls about a car warranty and I will tell you it made me want to go back to the olden days when I had no idea about anything going on in the world and just cruised around in my little Volkswagen Cabriolet (obviously, this cannot be a surprise to you) with the top down with my friends Amy and Laurie and Suzanne in the car as we thought we were bad ass with our bacon egg and cheeses and Snapples blaring Green Day as we cruised town. I MISS THOSE DAYS full stop. OK, I digress…
Welcome to all my new subscribers. This is PCM, the weekly newsletter keeping you in the know on all the latest things. And NO Trump which even though he’s irrelevant now, I still need to point out. SAFE SPACE. Enjoy…
THE AMERICAN DREAM:
Is the American Dream to become a cat? I mean maybe for some people and that’s their truth and good for them. But the American Dream I am talking about is you inadvertently become a massive viral sensation and then learn to capitalize on that and do so with one word:
MERCH
Yes by now we have all seen cat lawyer. And we cried laughed. I mean not since the olden days of Bernie and his mittens has something taken off so fast and across so many age groups and countries. I mean I got sent this by friends in France, Ireland, the UK and Hong Kong. It really brought us all together again for a moment. And then I was annoyed with it but that’s me, I have the patience of a flea. BUT in case you missed it and were too embarrassed to ask, I got you boo…..
So what happened here is because we are in COVID land, court cases are being done over Zoom and this lawyer in the bottom right quadrant could not figure out how to get the cat filter off. I am assuming he had a child or grand child or someone young who had been playing around with his computer but WHO AM I TO ASSUME ANYTHING?? Maybe Mr. Ponton is a cat fetishist in his spare time and into furry fantasy and frankly NO JUDGEMENT (ok maybe a LITTLE judgement) but this is where we started the week. He was really baffled and embarrassed and needed the judge to know he IN FACT was NOT a cat. (PS: it was his assistants computer he claims he was using and her 10 year old had set the filter up…so…I ASSUMED CORRECTLY!)
I mean I have no idea if this posted before or after the cat-astophe but I ASSUME (again here I go with assuming shit) Zoom got in on the fun and added this to their support site:
But now of course the cat lawyer sees the money-maker he has on his hands so we will see mugs and hats and T-shirts…it is all fun and games until he is revealed to be a MAGA guy or something and then my friends we will go back to being miserable and humorless people. BUT until then…
THIS one made me laugh because if my parents came back to life for one day and was like so what’s happening and what have we missed the last 25 years and I said well here is THE NEW YORK TIMES, the bastion of journalism, and their take on cat lawyer guy I am pretty sure my parents would be like, “THANKS nice seeing you but we are out…”
NOT ALL NACHOS ARE EQUAL:
Look, I am not going to lie. Nachos are like my THING. I am a nacho enthusiast. I love all things nacho unless it’s cheese out of a jar and then NO THANK YOU. But just ask my friends Lydia and Candy who are maybe the only ones who will get me to move back to NYC JUST so we can have our nacho parties (with meat for Lyds and me and NO meat which is shocking to me for Candy but I digress…) I love nachos. So you would think as nachos take a FRONT AND CENTER role in the TIKTOK zeitgeist I would be thrilled right?? I AM NOT THRILLED.
First, I thought I would use this time to show the things I do absolutely love on TikTok at the moment. A great TRANSITION if you will into showcasing the trends that are happening now that I AM OBSESSED WITH and bring me joy…before we dive into NACHO-gate. So here we go….
First, my girl TINX. If you haven’t seen her then you are either hiding under a rock or just opposed to happiness and joy. But Christina Najjar, aka itsmethinx, is one of my favorite creators. I mean YES she has become what we call an influencer but she is brilliant and she influences me on the daily. She is a Stanford grad who came out to LA right before the start of COVID and was like what’s this TikTok thing and now she is the creator of things like RICH MOMS OF….a genius series:
Now for those of you knew here or maybe missed this edition this summer, I first found her thru THIS incredible video. For those who know me know I live in West Hollywood, I am POWER GAY ADJACENT aka my besties are power lesbians and I WISH I WAS — and I have a french bulldog. NAMED POTATO. Tinx DID NOW KNOW ME YET…
CRAZY right? Anyway, she’s one of my fave people on TikTok.
NEXT up is ANGRY REACTIONS. This guy has blown up and for good reason. His joy and optimism is just contagious and pushes us to see things differently than how we are first interpreting things.
The creator, Oneya Johnson, revealed he was homeless and living in his car when these videos started. I am hoping this has all changed because this dude deserves all the success and love.
Another favorite of mine to crop up recently is the #ITSEVERYTHINGYOUEVERWANT trend which is using a song from The Greatest Showman which is having a BIG moment on TikTok a couple years after the release of the film and I AM HERE FOR IT. So there are a few takes on this trend:
- Where someone uses this sound to talk about a traumatic experience in their life like the model Coco Rocha did here:
2. And then others started turning it into spoofs of really emotional characters from TV shows like “Grey’s Anatomy” and people in comments trying to figure out what character/show it is referring to like this:
And then the LAST trend which is not my fave but one your teen girl might be doing and YOU MIGHT want to step in on this one….but this is fodder before we address the real enemy here and that is NACHOTIKTOK but here it goes…
#OOTD. This stands for Outfit of the Day and dear baby Jesus I know I KNOW in my heart of hearts of my Jappy days in middle school I would have 100 percent been guilty of this but it hits different during a pandemic. So, nothing new about people showcasing their outfits but the specific trend is this: generally a few friends each showcase the things they are wearing by disclosing the brand. So you have 16 year old girls showcasing they own Cartier, Van Cleef, Aviator Nation, Gucci, Golden Goose, and on and on…..I cannot do it justice so here you go:
OK so now we get to nachos. The UNSANITARY TIKTOK trend that some people love and all I can say MY OCD goes nuts with these videos. So if your kid comes home and says, “can I make nachos??” you better be prepared to experience a new situation. Now maybe they will use a tray like a normal person but they also may turn your dinning room table INTO the tray.
This became a trend on the socials…cover your table with tinfoil and then behold…nacho table:
Now I found this a lot to take. BUT OK…a cute family activity. Fine. But this past week we were confronted with this atrocity and I will not recover for a while and worse, I think this lady may have ruined nachos for me FOREVER. Which is UNFORGIVABLE tbh.
WHAT TO WATCH/LISTEN TO:
Yes a lot has happened with Britney and the Kardashians but I cannot write more about them so I will just highlight below but let’s get to WHAT TO WATCH THIS WEEK, something I have not done in a while. But there is a lot on and a lot is trash but FUN trash and some others mixed in so enjoy:
My friend Danny Passman told me to watch this and I started it and hated it like HATED the people in it but he told me to hang in there, and watch it all the way thru and HOLY MOLY I did and worth it.
Look, I have said this before and I will say it again. I am 46 going on 16 and therefore I love me some teen drama but the “To All the Boys…” franchise really is perfect for teens and want to be teens and PLUS you have Aiden from Sex and the City AND ELLIOT FROM ET in a small role but he is there so I say, thumbs up for watching with the fam:
And I watched this last night and loved it and thanks to Amazon Prime Video who sent me the most amazing Valentine gift bag, I was able to watch it under a weighted blanket they sent and BELIEVE THE HYPE, weighted blankets are AMAZING. I digress…I loved this:
My friend Laurie got me the “Firefly Lane” books for me to dive into after my heart surgery. DAMN her. And now this series and I am not going to lie…I binged it. Every second of it. I cannot lie…it’s a guilty pleasure. I mean it was better than Bridgerton which was NOT GOOD let’s be clear.
And my new fave podcast is from none other than Gimlet obviously, and I cannot get enough though they only have released one episode thus far but I am now reading everything there is to read about….CHIPPENDALE’S.
IT IS FASCINATING and I am obsessed with “WELCOME TO YOUR FANTASY”:
And some news on this:
AND LASTLY….just a few highlights or lowlights whatever you want to call them:
- Kendall Jenner is literally a Barbie and has no vagina. Sorry, there is not polite way to say this but there you go:
- Justin Timberlake apologies to Brit Brit AND TO JANET JACKSON like 20 years TOO late. And if you ask TikTok, JT is trash trash and none of the Gen Z peeps will have him for ONE second. HIs full statement:
I’ve seen the messages, tags, comments, and concerns and I want to respond. I am deeply sorry for the times in my life where my actions contributed to the problem, where I spoke out of turn, or did not speak up for what was right. I understand that I fell short in these moments and in many others and benefited from a system that condones misogyny and racism.
I specifically want to apologize to Britney Spears and Janet Jackson both individually, because I care for and respect these women and I know I failed.
I also feel compelled to respond, in part, because everyone involved deserves better and most importantly, because this is al larger conversation that I wholeheartedly want to be part of and grow from…
The industry is flawed. It sets men, especially white men, up for success. It’s designed this way. As a man in a privileged position I have to be vocal about this. Because of my ignorance, I didn’t recognize it for all that it was while it was happening in my own life but I do not want to ever benefit from others being pulled down again.
I have not been perfect in navigating all of this throughout my career. I know this apology is a first step and doesn’t absolve the past. I want to take accountability for my own missteps in all of this as well as be part of a world that uplifts and supports.
I care deeply about the wellbeing of the people I love and have loved. I can do better and I will do better.
- Shower Onions. This one got me. Someone help me here…is this real? I cannot believe this is real but there is some debate about it. But there is a trend on the socials talking about how everyone KNOWS about Shower Onions and how they are used to get rid of mildew smells in bathrooms and some videos are in humor but some are serious and I am horrified:
OK so that’s it…a crazy one this week and my whole equilibrium is a mess because it’s Tuesday and NOT Monday and I am just super confused. But I adore you all my darlings and please stay safe and sane and thoughtful and I will see you NEXT MONDAY.
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